Research bureaucracy in the United Kingdom: Ask for help

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7466.624-a

BMJ 2004;329:624 (11 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7466.624-a

Letter

Research bureaucracy in the United Kingdom

Ask for help

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—I recently took a similar length of time as Waldto complete a 60 page COREC form, for a study comparing twodifferent approaches to the management of cancer pain.¹ Waldmay have been unduly harsh about the process and available support.

Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have had invaluable help fromour trust's research and effectiveness department, based atthe Bristol Royal Infirmary. Involving them at the protocoldevelopment stage undoubtedly facilitated this. I have alsoreceived useful (and money saving) advice from the Medicinesand Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and, like Wald, wasable to apply for a doctors' and dentists' exemption, whichwas rolled over to a clinical trials authorisation on 1 May,thereby saving some £2000. Because other researchers weredoing likewise (the agency's workload was quadrupled for thatperiod; personal communication, 2004), this unsurprisingly resultedin some delay in issuing the . . . [Full text of this article]